City abandons unwanted strip of land
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com

Discovering it owned a completely surrounded 14-foot strip of land for no apparent reason, El Campo City Council opted to abandon it during its last regular session.

The 14-by-120-foot strip, located in the parking lot between the Leader-News and the Travel Store, had a water line below it in 1983 when the surrounding land was abandoned by the city.

NewFirst National Bank owns all of the surrounding land.

In the "Original Town of El Campo" plats, there is a 30-foot wide alley running through the parking lot area.

"Back in 1983, we received a request that the alley be abandoned," City Manager John Steelman said.

At that point, the city released 16-feet of the alley, but retained control of the 14 feet with the water line.

Later the water line was cut off from the system, eliminating the need for the surrounded plot.

During the Oct. 9 session, city staff requested Council fully abandon the non-existent alley.